Six information officers fined for delaying RTI reply

DNA; Ashutosh Shukla; Thursday, October 28, 2010

City-based Right to Information activist (RTI) Shailesh Gandhi, in his capacity as a central information commissioner, recently passed a landmark order under the RTI Act.

In an order dated October 22, he fined six public information officers (PIOs) of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Rs25,000 each, the highest penalty amount allowed under the Act. The total fine comes to Rs1.5 lakh, which is the highest penalty levied for a single RTI application in the country. Apart from becoming a landmark order, it will also serve as a stern reminder for most officers who take the RTI Act casually.

The information sought did not pertain to the departments the six PIOs were in. As per the RTI Act, if a PIO is not concerned with the details sought, he should either seek it from the people who hold the information, or send the application to the concerned department. The fine was imposed on the PIOs for delaying this relay of information.

Ravi Bhushan Bali, an officer at the MCD, had sought information on the recruitment of 13 officers in the MCD, their ad hoc promotions, and the officer in-charge of such recruitments and promotions. He had also sought information on transfers of officers from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to the MCD.

Dissatisfied by the reply he got and by the first appellate authority, Bali approached the central information commission. In its order, the commissioner stated, “The commission has been given no reasonable explanation for the delay in giving the information by the concerned officers. They all admitted that a letter was sent by the PIO to them to provide the service files of the 13 officers. A reminder was also given to them on 04/03/2010. They provided the service files and replies only after the order of the central information commission on September 10, 2010.”